We are taking a train from Colmar France to Lucerne with an 8 minute transfer in Basel. Will that be enough time? Is there a way to see the arrival and departure platforms for our trains so we have an idea of where to walk fast/run to? Also I bought the tickets through SNCF and it says these are kiosk tickets. Can I validate both in France or would I have to validate in Basel again for the Lucerne portion of the trip?
You can see the platforms by putting your info in for the date and time of travel at www.sbb.ch/en.
I am guessing the Colmar-Basel tickets are TER tickets which have to be validated. These arrive at the "France" platforms at Basel SBB station (platforms 31 to 35), which are a bit of a walk to the main platforms. However, Swiss tickets do not have to be validated, you just get on a train. There are at least 3 connections every hour to Luzern, so if you miss a connection, just wait 20 minutes or so for the next one. There is only one direct connection every hour at 14 past the hour. The others require a connection at Olten.